False Love
by AxelThePyromaniac
Summary: Takes place in Folsense, the town from Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box/Pandora's Box. Leyia Lewis, a girl fresh off the Molentary Express, finds herself enchanted by Duke, the boy who hangs around the Museum Gate. When Folsense is revealed to just be a lie, Sammy Thunder, is there to comfort her. Not exactly AU, DukeXOC and Sammy ThunderXOC. Don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

False Love

Disclaimer: I do not own Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box/Pandora's Box. It belongs to Level-5... However, all the games I've played have made me cry...

Lunaria smiled, holding her ticket with nothing but numbers as she stepped off the Molentary Express. She appeared to be alone, and her smile quickly faded as she saw how dark and grim the station was. Stepping carefully forward, a sharp gust blew her long brown hair about her face. Her brow furrowed as she fiddled through her bag for a hair ribbon. Quickly tying her hair back, she took another cautious step. The floor appeared to shake under her feet and lights flashed before her eyes.

"What's going on?" she asked, holding her head in her hands. The floor stopped shaking and the lights disappeared as quickly as they'd come. The girl stepped forward once again, walking in short strides. Two boys in hats were arguing over something as Lunaria walked out of the train station. One of the boys leaned against the fountain, his hat covering his eyes.

"I told you, go away, kid. I actually have a reason to be here, unlike you. Now beat it."

The other boy, younger by several years and wearing a light purple, pinkish hat, spoke next.

"There's enough room here for both of us, Rory."

"There isn't enough room in all of Folsense for us both!" The older boy, Rory exclaimed.

Lunaria watched with slight amusement, when an older boy closer to Rory's age walked toward the fountain.

"Stop, Rory. Picking on a mere child?" The older boy looked down to the younger one. "Go home, Niles. I'll be there after I deal with Rory here." The younger boy ran off, leaving the boy Lunaria assumed was his brother.

"I can't stand that kid, and you know that." Rory growled, looking to the floor.

"Well, I can't stand you. Stop waiting for your girlfriend that's never going to come back and go to the cabaret where you belong."

Rory stormed off, the girlfriend comment striking a nerve. The boy smiled, and Lunaria stepped forward.

"Oh, hello!" the boy said, surprised.

"Hi..." Lunaria responded, unsure what to say.

"You're new here."

"Huh? Oh, hehe, yeah." Lunaria looked into his eyes, realizing how handsome he looked. The boy cleared his throat and Lunaria blushed, realizing she had stared at him. "Sorry... But yeah, I am new. I just wanted to take a look around before my train left."

"You mean that train over there?" The boy said, pointing to the station. The Molentary Express was speeding away. The girl ran frantically, the boy following her.

"NO! NONONONO!" But it was too late, the train was long gone. "All of my things..."

"Oh dear, that's so unfortunate! And that train only comes by occasionally..."

The young woman's eyes filled with tears. She shrunk to the floor, holding her head in her hands.

"What am I going to do?" she asked.

"No, please don't cry." The boy sat down next to her, hugging her figure close to his.

"But I have nowhere to go..." The tears flowed from her eyes, staining the boy's shirt.

"Here," the boy said, pulling a hankie from his pocket. "Don't cry. My name is Duke. Duke Cambridge. What's your name?"

"... Lunaria Lewis."

"Good to meet you, Miss Lewis. Now, come over to my house. My brother's waiting for me." Duke stood up, grabbing her hand.

"No, I couldn't possibly. How could you explain this to your parents?"

"... My brother and I live alone."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

"No need to apologise. Now, let's go. We'll figure something out there."

Duke held Lunaria's hand, keeping her steady.

"What is this town?" Lunaria asked as they walked past a place glowing pink, that she assumed was the cabaret.

"Folsense." Duke turned on a longer road, and turned again in front of a smaller building. He opened the door and motioned for Lunaria to go in. The house wasn't as small as she thought it would be, it was actually quite large.

"Duke, you're home!" The boy from earlier, Niles, walked down a spiral staircase. Niles ran to hug his brother, and Duke grinned. Lunaria smiled at the two boys. Niles broke the hug, then his eyes moved to the strange girl he'd never seen before.

"There's a strange girl here." Niles pointed at Lunaria.

"No, this girl is Lunaria. She's stuck here until the Molentary Express comes back."

"Why is she in our house?"

"She has nowhere else to go, Niles. Be kind." Duke motioned for Lunaria to come by him.

"Hi there." she said, looking to the floor. Niles smiled, grabbing her hand and shaking it furiously.

"Hello! I'm Niles, but you already know that." Niles turned to his brother, whispering something in his ear. Duke turned a furious shade of red, and shook his head like a crazy person.

"OF COURSE NOT!"

Niles and Lunaria looked at Duke, confusion written on Lunaria's face and amusement on Niles'.

"No need to lie, brother." the younger boy said, as if he knew something no one else did.

"Well, Miss Lewis," Duke said, ignoring his brother and sitting on a couch, "make yourself at home. Looks like you'll be staying here for a few days, until you get back on your feet. You'll need to get a job, if you want to move out. You're more than welcome to stay here. It gets awfully lonely when you're in such a large house.

"No, I couldn't. Are there any flats for rent around here?"

"Afraid not, the closest thing around here is a hotel, and hotels can be pretty expensive."

Lunaria sighed, sitting on the couch next to Duke.

"Are you absolutely positive I can stay here?"

"Of course, provided you can do housework. We all share this house, so we each have to do our share of the work."

"Naturally, but are you sure? You've only just met me."

"I dunno. You're... different from anyone I've ever met. I feel like I can just trust you."

"What if I'm homicidal?"

Duke shot the girl a look.

"Do you want to stay here or not?"

Lunaria smiled, giving up on the debate. "Of course. But be warned, I'm a dreadful cook."

* * *

And so, Lunaria began her stay with the Cambridge boys. The three grew together quickly, but Lunaria and Duke became nothing short of best friends. One day, while Niles was off roaming Folsense with Joanie, Duke and Lunaria decided to go shopping. Money was never an issue, the boys' parents had been extremely well off and the monthly allowance from the inheritance was more than enough for the two boys and one girl to survive on.

Garland's store was the only grocer in Folsense, so the pair had to endure the horrible garlic smell that came with the shopping visits.

"Ah! Yuck, you never get used to so much garlic." Duke exclaimed as he entered the store.

"'Course not, it's just so strong, and... Uh... What's the word..."

"Disgusting?"

"No..."

"Awful?"

"No, it starts with a P..."

"pungent?"

"Yes!" Lunaria yelled, alarming Garland, "That's it!"

"You have such a way with words, Luna." Duke said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Why thank you, Reginald."

Duke leapt at Lunaria, covering her mouth and searching around frantically.

"Sh! You can't just blurt my middle name for everyone else in the world to hear!"

"As if, we're the only ones in the store, genius. Ew, you pushed me into a pile of garlic."

Duke stood up and helped Lunaria to her feet.

"Sorry. Oh gosh, you smell awful."

"I noticed," she grimaced, pinching her nose.

The duo quickly grabbed the things they needed, sifting through the supplies to find the ones least garlicky.

"I CAN BREATHE!" Lunaria shouted once they were out in the fresh air.

"I can't. You still smell awful, Luna."

"Well, this is your fault. Now, you have to buy me new clothes."

"Can we burn the garlic ones?"

"Whoah, calm yourself, Mr. Pyro. But yeah, maybe... I don't think these clothes should go to the dump." Lunaria looked at her purple top and black pants, regretting what happened to them. At least her shoes were okay...

"Probably. Well, my mum actually left some of her clothes behind. They'd probably fit you. Wanna go see?"

"No! Duke, you know I could never do that!"

"It's alright, she had no use for them. And she was always the kind of person to give to those in need." Duke looked Lunaria over. "And you're definitely in need."

"If you insist..." Lunaria reluctantly accepted and grabbed Duke's waiting hand. They talked about the things friends talk about, ranging from kittens to fruit. Somehow, Duke always managed to bring the subject back to Lunaria's awful stench, causing raucous laughter from Duke. Lunaria covered her ears, causing Duke to laugh even more.

"Duke, your laugh always gets me. I never expect such a loud sound from you."

"Well, get used to it."

"What do you mean?" Lunaria asked, confused.

"Nevermind!" Duke flushed a light shade of pink.

As they neared the cabaret, music started to play. Outside of the cabaret, an accordion player and a violinist were outside, playing a folksy tune. Lunaria smiled and set her bag of groceries on the ground.

"Duke! Let's dance!" Lunaria clapped her hands and began dancing alone.

"I don't think so..."

"C'mon, I'll help you!" Lunaria grabbed the hesitant boy's hand and smiled. His feet move clumsily while hers moved gracefully, sweat beaded on his neck as she held him closer to direct his dancing. The tune slowed down, into more of a strange waltz, and their dancing slowed as well. Lunaria rest her head on his shoulder, thinking that if time stopped at that moment, she'd be just fine. Their dancing continued, until Duke said that if they were any longer, Niles would worry. Waving at the musicians and giving them the change they were given from the store, they continued home after grabbing their groceries.

"That was fun, wasn't it?" Lunaria asked as they turned down the long road.

"..." Duke stayed silent for a moment, pulling his hat over his eyes.

"Duke?" The brunette poked her friend in the arm. "Are you okay?"

Suddenly, Duke grabbed Lunaria's arm and held her close to him. "What are you-"

"This." he muttered, answering her question before she finished asking it. Lunaria stood in shock as he pressed his lips to hers, then kissed him back in bliss. In the back of her mind, she told herself that what she said before was a lie. If time stopped at THAT moment, she'd be just fine.

Unfortunately for her, time kept going on despite how much she wanted it to stop.

A/N: I had this idea with the whole Folsense hallucination gas thing. Like? Dislike? This'll probably be three or four chapters, it depends on where it goes. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**False Love**

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box/Pandora's Box. I do however, own Lunaria Lewis. **

A/N: Oookay, decided to post one of these before the chapter. Just know I'm really relying on the hallucinogenic gas A LOT in this fic. So what Lunaria sees in Folsense may differ slightly from the Professor's. And Duke's age in this is older as well. Now that's out-of-the-way, so happy reading!

Lunaria blushed.

"I can't say I had no idea you felt this way, because I felt the same."

"Haha, yeah, I know."

"I am quite the knockout."

Duke snorted, pressing his forehead to hers.

"You're lucky you got any kiss, the way you smell." he whispered, looking into her eyes.

"Whatever. I gotta get home so I can smell nice." Lunaria muttered, turning away from him and continuing her walk home.

When the pair arrived at home, Niles wasn't in.

"Probably off with Joanie again. You'd think the two were in love, all the time they spend together." Duke said as he crossed the threshold.

"He's thirteen." Lunaria rolled her eyes.

"Three years older than when you met him!"

"Hm... Three years, huh? That's how long it took for you to kiss me?"

"Shut up and go take your damn shower." The boy pulled his hat over his eyes and smiled.

Laughing, the young woman grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom.

Duke smiled as he sat on the couch. _Three years, huh? Has it really been that long since Luna came to Folsense? It only feels like a few days..._

Lunaria sighed as the hot water bounced off her exposed back. Thoughts of her new-found lover swam through her mind, and although they had only discovered their feelings for each other, she couldn't help but imagine the beautiful family they'd have. Shaking her head, she chuckled slightly. What was she thinking? Did she honestly think they were going to get married? Her eyes widened in shock as she realized that was exactly what she thought. After a few minutes of standing pointlessly in the spray of the shower, she collected herself and warmth radiated through her body.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Duke stood up from his seat on the couch and looked out.

"Niles, you're home!"

"Yeah, I was just out with Joanie again."

"Oh, I knew it." Duke smiled coyly, closing the door once his brother crossed the threshold.

"Was it really that obvious?"

"Of course it is, the blush is still fresh in your cheeks." To make his point, the older boy pinched his younger brother's cheeks, darkening the blush even further.

"If we're going to talk about blush in the cheeks, you may want to look at your own. Did you finally kiss her?"

Duke stood up and walked over to a nearby mirror, studying himself and blushing even deeper once he realized he was blushing. Basically, there was a lot of blushing going on in the Cambridge-Lewis household.

"Yeah, I did... Hey, did you know it's been three years?"

"Really? It's been three years? That's not possible!"

"But it is... And it has been..." He stared longingly at a picture of Lunaria from when they had first gone to Joseph's to buy a camera she had wanted for the longest time.

"Uh... Excuse me?" Lunaria interrupted, standing at the base of the stairs in her robe. "I uh... didn't have any clothes to put on, and mine are in the wash, so..."

"Oh, yes, just come with me to the attic for now."

She hesitated slightly before answering, then gritted her teeth and followed Duke to the attic.

"How come I never knew there was an attic?"

Duke pulled open a sliding door as they went up a staircase in the spare room's closet.

"Uh, well, I avoid coming up here anymore. And you're just unobservant." he explained, his voice playful during the last bit.

"Gee, thanks."

Lunaria looked around the relatively small room packed full of boxes. In one corner, there was an old wardrobe Duke was walking toward. She stayed a bit behind, peeking into boxes here and there and stooping down to examine old things lost in time. There were so many lost treasures in the attic. One box was full of old toys, another badges from some sort of battle, and Lunaria completely stopped walking as she opened up another box. She seized up one of the small paper squares, running her finger over the small polished surface.

In the picture, there was a beautiful woman who resembled Niles. Next to her, a man she nearly thought was Duke but realized he was much too old. A small child was cradled in the woman's arms, the man peering into the little bundle to make faces at it. _These people must be Duke's parents... _Tears came to her eyes as she realized this, and she hurriedly put the photo back into the box marked 'Mum's'. Lunaria wiped her tears with the sleeve of her robe and walked over to the wardrobe Duke was rummaging through.

"Well, this was Mum's old school uniform, and she tweaked it quite a bit. I think it would look quite nice on you."

Lunaria stared at the white button down shirt, plaid skirt and strange sweater-like poncho. As soon as she saw it, she fell in love and remembered the photograph she had seen. She looked at Duke, who was wiping away his own tears now.

"If you think so, Duke. If you want me to wear it."

Duke smiled, nodding.

"Mum would love to see someone else get a use for her uniform. Go ahead, try it on." Duke closed his eyes and walked into the wardrobe, closing the door on himself.

After walking behind several boxes and making sure no one could see her, Lunaria disrobed and put on the new clothes. She spun around a bit to get a feel for the skirt and walked back over to Duke with her robe slung over her shoulder.

"Well, what do you think?"

The door of the wardrobe slowly opened and dark eyes popped out, child-like.

"You look beautiful... I really do mean that."

Lunaria blushed, filling the household with even more blushing.

To be quite honest, Lunaria was the happiest she'd ever been. Duke was truly the one for her... She thought she could never love anyone but him...

She would soon be proven wrong, attaching her love to someone she would first hate.

* * *

The Professor stepped off the train, bewildered by his surroundings. Flora held on to his sleeve, and Luke stayed close by.

"This is Folsense?" Luke asked, walking forward.

"It is, my boy."

Suddenly, lights flashed and the ground shook. They were in.

A/N: Sorry it took so long. This story is more sad than I thought... Please review...


End file.
